Conservative Shiloh Inns Founder Mark Hemstreet Owes Millions in Back Taxes

By Nigel Jaquiss February 08, 2023 at 6:14 am PST

For hotelier Mark Hemstreet, it’s come to this: A man who was among the biggest spenders in Oregon politics in the 1990s, who lived a life of private jets and sprawling ranches—not to mention the metro area’s largest American flags and Christmas light displays at his company’s Beaverton headquarters—today stands accused of not paying for his cattle’s fodder.
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The December filings brought the number of IRS liens against Hemstreet filed with the secretary of state to nine. None has been released or paid off. The liens show that Hemstreet owes the feds more than $20 million for unpaid personal income taxes and employee withholdings.

For some, failure to pay federal income taxes can result in criminal charges. In November, for instance, the U.S. attorney for Oregon publicized the guilty plea of Rebekah Williams, the owner of a now-defunct Damascus dump truck operation. After being indicted on 19 counts of willfully failing to pay $112,457 in federal withholding taxes for employees, Williams pleaded guilty to “willfully failing to pay employment taxes” and will be sentenced Feb. 14. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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“The IRS, in my view, doesn’t go after the big guys,” Hoevet says. “They target mostly cases that look like certainties—regular folks whose businesses are in trouble—rather than people like Hemstreet.”

https://www.wweek.com/news/2023/02/08/shilo-inns-founder-mark-hemstreet-owes-more-than-20-million-in-back-taxes/